St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-01-20

of the hall. The man used violence and
the woman screamed. Her cry was heard
by passer by. who misunderstood it and
shouted fire" The womans screams and
the cry of fire" were heard inside and at
once created panic, the audience. num-
bering 500, rising in body and rushing
pell nell for the main entrance. Inc
audience was almost entirely composed OF
Jews. The manager of the Hebrew ORA
matte club, which was giving the entertain
ment, was on the stage when the panic
began. He perceived at once that there
was no reason for it and did all in his
power to
ALLAY THE EXCITEMENT
and to afford all possible facilities 1or the
exit of the people. The hall has number
of entrances, and he had them all thrown
wide open and called on the people when
thew would not remain to divide and use all
the doorways, but they paid no attentions
to him. In fact many of them construed
the managers earnestneSs into proof that
there was a fire, and these increased their
eXertions to get out. The whole crowd
as with one impulse, made for the main
entrance. 1t happened that among those
who first reached it were number OF
women and children, who had been occu-
pying some of the rear seats. They were
Overborne by stronger men attempting 10
pass them, and as the women and children
fell at the doorway as stumbling docks
they tripped up others, who were crushed
down by the frantic crowd. 1t took but a
few minutes to empty the house, and the
alarm was so thorough that not soul
among the audience refralned from the
struggle to get out. When the people, after
reaching the street, ascertained the facts OF
the situation scene of great disorder OF
anther kind ensued, caused by the discov-
cry that number were missing, Then
rush back was made. This, however. was
stopped at the main entrance by the police,
who had arrived and assumed control.
SEVENTEEN CoRPSES
were found in the theater near the door
| They were all torn. crushed and dIshgured.
1t was found that of the dead, twelve were
women, three were boys, one was girl ana
the other man. The remains were al
| most unrecognzabe Eye witnesses say
that the way the strong men who got up
permost in the struggle at the door, crushed
! and trampled upon those who fell down
was indescribable, and ruthlessly brutal,
but of course, not willful, it being SUI
preme case of ''every one for himself" LII
| is stated that number Of infants carried III
| their mothers arms and chung to through
| all the panic were also crushed or Smoth-
| cred to death, and that a number OF others
were fatally injured. The scene during the
attempted return of the crowd was painful
| in the extreme The bereaved waited al
the doorways all night waiting to have
their dead restored to them, and the lamen-
tationS of the women were heart-Dreaklng.
| The police have been given number OF
contradictory stories about the cause OF the
panic. One statement is that thieves
; started the cry of fire for the purpose OF
getting an opportunity to despoil the many
rich Jewesses i'll the hall of the costly
Jewels they bore on their persons.
The hall to-day resembles a disordered
auction room. Broken furniture, crushed
toys, children's hats. broken bottles, orange
peel, actors wigs and shredS OF clothes lie
scattered over the floor.
| MANY BLOOD SPOTS
are on the backs OF chairs and on the floor.
Every here and there are CHASTITY knots OF
hair clingng to the furniture. Severa
escapes were made through the windows
most of which are badly smashed The
bodies were found at the bottom of the
stone stairs leading to the gallery. Here
a terrible struggle took place between the
front of the crowd rushing from the mair
floor and the leaders of the throne
which rushed down the gallery
stairs. The dead lay mostly il
opposing rows, the feet of each row CLOSE
to those of the other, one row OF heads
lying toward the gallery stairway. thu
other toward the opposite side of the hall
The faces of the dead are distorted, witt
agoniZed expressions. The clothes are
completely torn from the bodies of some
A little girl, since identified as Eva Marks
was found lying at the bottom of the pile
dead. Her lower limbs were bare and thu
upper part of her dress torn to shreds
showing that she had fought hard for life
Isaac Levy, venerable Hebrew, will
white flowing beard and hair, was founC
among the dead. He and his wife were
regular attendants at the performances
They always sat near the door. and 1t il
thought from the position in which hi
body was found that Levy, instead of flee
ing alone when the panic started. rename,
to help protect his wife, so the old MAJ
was brushed down by the rushing crowt
and
STAMPED TO DEATH.
His wife's body lay opposite. Tn
woman was in the prime of life and wor
brightly colored clothes and quantities o
iewelry. Beside her lay little boy who's
knickerbockers and stockings were torn t.
shreds. A man named Harris Goldberg
says he went to the gallery of the nall &C
companied by his wife and family. The
all set together The play was a melo
drama called the Spanish Gypsy Girl.
During the performance some boys il
; order to obtain better view Of the stag
climbed up an exposed gas pipe fixed aloni
the wall. This strained and started leak
Goldberg placed handkerchief over tn
leak. Some one shouted turn off th
meter" This shout was raised stimuli
taneously with cry of alan
from one of the actors on tn
stage. Then the people III the CALLER
rose and rushed headlOng down stairs
. Goldberg's wife was torn away from hI
and traulped to death. His siX-year-ol
son Jumped upon the heads of the packe
mass and escaped by running over them
The managers are not to blame for the dis
aster The passage from the hall to tn
street entrance is ten feet wide where th
struggle occurred. and the doors swim
: both ways. There are several minor exit
- from the gallery. three besides the sta
case. The disaster arose not from til
p crowding of the passage, but the franti
efforts of the people in the gallery to fore
\ their way down the crowded stairs. TIL
, men and women in front were driven heaC
. long into the passage. where they met tn
i excited occupants of the pit and there wa
n hopeless block.
GOSCHENsS CAMPAIGN.
}, Platform OF Urinciples--Lor